Carrier dispatch system



J. A. BAUER CARRIER DISPATCH SYSTEM July 22 @24 Filed Aug. 1o' 192g 2 sheets-sheet 1 J. A. BAUER CARRIER ADISPATCH SYSTEM Filed Aug.r10 I 1922 2 Sheets- Sheet 2 Patented July 22, i924.

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JOHN' A. BAUER, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE LAMSON COMPANY F BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

CARRIER nrsrnron:V SYSTEM'.

Application led August 10, 1922. Serial No. 580,883.

To all whom t may concer/n: y Be it known that I, JOHN A. BAUER, a citizen of the United States of America, and

resident of Boston, in the county of Su'olk` and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Carrier Dispatch Systems, of which the following is a specification'.

This invention pertains to carrier dispatch systems and relates more particularly to' central station apparatus therefor.

One type of central station arrangement which has given very satisfactory results comprises a desk having longitudinally distributed carrier delivery terminals all of which deliver their carriers upon an endless belt or other conveyer by means of which they are moved lengthwise of lthe desk for delivery to the cashiers or charge authorizers. Commonly the cashiers and charge authorizers sit at opposite sides of the desk and the cash and credit carriers move along the desk in two independent streams, switch means beingV provided at suitable intervals for diverting the carriers to the stations of the several attendants. Arrangements such as above outlined are generally satisfactory and give good service in most cases, a typical example of such a central station installation being disclosed in the patent to Whittier, No. 1,365,428, Jan. 11, 1921. In certain situations, where by reason of limitation of space it is not possible to seat operatives at both sides of the desk, or when it is found expedient to have one set of attendants, as for example the charge authoriziers, under closer supervision of the auditor or other responsible authority, it is desirable to deliver all of the carriers moving along one side of the desk to a relatively remote point, for instance, another floor of the building, where they may be distributed in any desired inanner among attendants there stationed. In some cases the delivery of all of the carriers of one class to a point remote from the central station may be desirable only temporarily, as for example during a special sale, or to facilitate checking of the character of the work done by the usual attendants at the central station.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide for conveying the carriers of one class arriving at a central station to a point remote from the station and more specifically to provide ellicient means for guiding and delivering carriers moving along one side of the central station desk to a suitable conveyer for transfer to a remote point. A further object is to provide signal devices for announcing any accidental piling up or jamming of the carriers at the entrance to the carrier conveying means so as to give proper notice of such occurrence to the person or persons responsible for keepmg the system in operative condition.

For convenience in illustration, the present invention has been shown as applied to a `central station apparatus of the general t, e disclosed in the above noted patent to ittier, but it is to be understood that in its broader aspects it is applicable to carrier dispatch systems generally, whether of the pneumatic type or not.

ln the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary plan view of a central station installation of well-known type having the device of the present invention applied thereto, certain. parts being broken away;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the parts shown in Fig. 1, together with additional elements;

Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical cross section on a line such as 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a plan view partly broken away and to larger. scale showing the delivery device of the present invention removed from the central station desk;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the device shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary end elevation ot the device of Fig. 5 viewed from the righthand side thereof; and

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary elevation of the right-hand portion of the device of Fig. 5, certain of the parts being shown in another position, and also indicating the receiving end of the pneumatic conveyer tube.

Referring more particularly to Figs. l to 3, inclusive,a central station apparatus of 100 the general type disclosed in the patent Whittier, above referred to, is indicated by the numeral 1. This central station comprises one or more desks each having an elongate support 2 upon which two series of 195 carrier delivery terminals 3, 4 are mounted.

Upon either side of the support 2 elongate open troughs 5, 6 are arranged, the bottoms of which are formed by endless belts7, 8 respectively. These belts are constantly moved in the direction of the arrows in Fig. 1 by means of a suitable motor arranged below th@l desk. The transmission tubes 1() leading from the various substations are provided with automatic separators 11 of usual form whereby charge and cash carriers are separated and are delivered into the terminals 3, 4 respectively from which they are discharged onto the belts 7 and 8. Upon one side of the desk stations Y for the charge authorizers are arranged, and this side of the desk is furnished with a longitudinally extending shelf or table 12 onto which the carriers moving along on the belt 7 may be delivered by means of inclined chutes such as 13 provided at their upper ends with deflectors 16 having actuating handles such as 17. By suitably setting a deflector, carriers moving along the belt may be caused to diverge from their normal path and to pass down the corresponding chute 13 onto the table 12. The opposite side of the desk is provided with stations X for the cashiersand may be in all respects similar to the side at which the charge authorizers are seated, the carriers moving along the belt 8 being diverted from their normal path by the deflector devices and deposited upon the table in front of the several cashiers. The vertical partitions or panels 15 which define the outer sides of the troughs 5, 6 respectively are provided with openings through which the operators, after the proper transaction has been made, may drop the carrier onto an endless belt 19 which extends centrally of the table and by means of which the carriers are conveyed to a table 19a in front of the return operator at the station Z, who places the carriers in the proper receiving openings 2O of the return transmission tubes 21. The above described arrangement is in general vold and well known in the art but it is at times found desirable for various reasons to cause all the carriers moving along one of the belts 7 or 8 to be delivered directly to a common' point removed from the desk at which they are first delivered.

As herein disclosed the carriers moving along the belt 7 may all be delivered at such a distant point and for this purpose a chute 22 having a delector 23 is provided at a point adjacent to the right hand end of the desk, as viewed in Fig. 1. This chute 22 is furnished withv lateral flanges 24, 25 (Fig. 4) by means of which it may be secured to the panel 15. The chute comprises the curved side walls 26, 27 and the inclined boty'tom wall 28. The side walls 26, 27 converge toward the lower end of the chute where the side .and bottom walls are so formed as to provide a channel or passage of substantially circular cross section, the side walls vide a bracket 36 having a bearing at 37 in which a pivot pin 38 is secured. This pivot pin serves as the fulcrum for a bell crank lever having a curved arm 39 which is positioned slightly above the normal path of movement oi carriers such as 40 moving along the chute and into the entrance 34 of the transmission tube. This bell crank lever yalso comprises the arm 41 which underlies the free extremity of a curved spring 42 whose other end is secured at 43 to a block 44 of insulating material secured to thel bracket 36. The spring 42 is provided' with an electrical contact element cooperating with a second contact element carried at the end of a resilient member 45 secured at 45l to the block 44, the contact elements being normally spaced apart. The springs 42 and 45 are electrically connected to binding posts 46, 47 respectively from which conductor wires 48, 49 extend. These conductor wires form parts of a suitable electrical ,circuit comprising a sounding device or other signal whereby upon completion of the circuit between contact members carried by the springs 42 and 45, an alarm will be given. As `such alarm circuit may be of any well known type, it is not illustrated herein. If it be desired that all the charge carriers be delivered at a remote point, the delectors 16 corresponding to the several chutes 13 are positioned to cover the entrances to the respective chutes while the delector 23 is set as indicated in Fig. 1. lVhen thus aranged, all of the carriers delivered from the bank of terminals 3 will be swept from the belt 7 the defiector 23 and will slide down the bottom wall 28 of the chute 22. As the carriers reach the lower end of the chute they pass into the receiving end 34 of the pneumatic suction tube 35. This suction tube may be of any usual type such for example as is indicated by the numeral 4 in the patent to Libby No. 966,576, filed August 30, 1910 and by means of the tube 35 the carriers may be delivered at any desired point where they may be distributed to operators by means of a moving belt, inclined chute, or in any other desired manner.

In Fig. 2, for example the tube 35 is Vshown as terminating at 50 in a position to discharge the carriers into an inclined chute l arranged at one end of a desk 52. This deskj may be located for example in the auditors 5 oiiice and in a relatively distant part of the establishment. This desk might also have other delivery terminals as indicated at 53 discharging into the chute 51, and from the latter, carriers are delivered onto an endless moving belt 54 for distribution among several operators in any convenient fashion.

If during the operation ofthe device as above described, a carrier should for any reason be jammed in the entrance to the tube 35 so that succeeding carriers would ride up thereon as indicated in broken lines at in Fig. 7 one of the improperly placed carriers Would contact With the arm 39 of the bell crank lever, thus swinging the lever as indi- 0 cated in Fig. 7 and completing the electrical alarm circuit through the spring members 42 and 45. The person responsible for maintaining the system in operative condition would thus be notified and the obstruction 2 removed. If the delivery of the carriers to a remote point is temporary only, the usual distribution of carriers may be resumed by swinging the deiiectors 16 outwardly 'and across the belt 7 When thus arranged none of the carrierswill normally be delivered into the chute 22and if desired the delector 23 for the latter chute may be swung across the entrance thereof so as to prevent the accidental delivery of a carrier into the tube 5 35. While as herein indicated the arrangement for conveying carriers from the central station desk to some other point is shown as applied to the charge carrier side of the desk, it is evident `that it might equally Well be ap- 40 plied to the other side, in which event the cash carriers would be delivered at some other point. It is also clear that this arrangement may be applied to a central station apparatus at Which it is never intended that the change making or charge authorizing transactions take place, as it is obvious that the chutes 13 might be dispensed With entirely, and that the carriers moving along either or both sides of the desk may be delivered directly to the conveyor tube or tubes 35. In this case the chutes 22 would be straight instead of having curved sides and would extend in ali ent with the belt 7, and no deflector suc as 23 would be necessary. Thus, for example, if the space available at the central station desk is insuiicient for either the cashiers, the charge authorizers, or both, part or all of the arriving carriers might be delivered at some convenient point or located. It is also evident that the exact form of the chute 22 is not essential, as its shape may be varied in accordance with conpoints Where such operators may beY iii? ditions of use and the space which may be available for the purpose.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is;l

1. A carrier dispatch system lcomprising a central station having a bank of delivery terminals and an operators station, means for causing all carriers discharged from said terminals to movel along a predetermined path past the operators station, and means for conveying all carriers not previously removed from said path at said operators station and irrespective of their respective points of origin from said path to a point remote from said station.

2. A carrier dispatch system comprising outlying stations and a central station comprislng a plurality of operators stations, means for segregating carriers of different kinds arriving at such central station from all of the outlying stations, conveyor means for moving carriers of one kind past the operators stations, and means for conveyin carriers of said kind not previously remove from the conveyor means at one of the operators stations to a point remote there# from.

3. A carrier dispatch system comprising a central station having means for segregating carriers of diiierent kinds arriving at such station, means for causing all the carriers of eachkind respectively to move along a predetermined path past an operators station, and means for delivering all the carriers of one kind not previously removed from said path in passing an operators station. to means for conveying them to a point remote from such station.

4. A carrier dispatch system comprising a central station having means for separating arriving carriers of diierent kinds, conveyor means operative to move all of the carriers of one kind to a common delivery point, means arranged in advance of said delivery point for optionally discharging carriers from the conveyor, and common meansfor conveying all carriers of said latter kind not previously discharged from the conveyor means to` a point remote from said central station.

5. A carrier dispatch system comprising a central station having banks of delivery terminals for carriers of diierent kinds, respectively, means for causing all of the carriers from one bank of terminals to move along a predetermined path, means for diverting all of said latter carriers from said path, and means for conveying such diverted carriers to a remotepoint.

6. A carrier dispatch system having a central station. providedfwith banks of terminals for delivering cash and creditcarriers respectively, means for moving such i a central station having means for segregat-' carriers in independent paths, means for diverting all the carriers of one kind from their path, and conveying means for movlng all of such diverted. carriers to a point distant from said central station.

7. A carrier dispatch system having a central station comprising a desk having banks vof delivery terminals for carriers of different kinds, means for moving carriers of the several kinds in paths extending longitudinally of the desk, and common means for receiving all of the carriers from one of said paths and for conveying such carriers away from the central station.

8. A carrier dispatch system comprising ing incoming carriers of different kinds and for moving them in independent paths, a guideway diverging from one of said paths, switch means for deflecting all carriers mov- 'ing along said latter path into said guideway, and means associated with the delivery end of said guideway for conveying carriers passing therethrough to a point remote from the centralv station.

9. A carriers dispatch system comprising a central station having means for segregating carriers of different kinds, conveyor means for causing all carriers of one kind to move along a predetermined path past a series of operators stations toward a common point'of discharge, and means for conveying all carriers arriving at such discharge point and not previously removed from the conveyor means in passing an operators station 'away from such central station.

10. A carrier dispatch system comprising a central station having a plurality of delivery terminals, means for moving all carriers discharged from said terminals along a common path, a trough extending laterally from said path, means for diverting carriers from said path into said trough, and means for conveying carriers from the discharge end of the trough to a remote point.

11. A carrier dispatch system comprising a central station having a plurality of delivery terminals, a guideway along which all carriers discharged from said terminals may move, a trough diverging from said guideway, means associated with said trough for diverting carriers from said guideway into the trough, and means for receiving carriers from the delivery end of the trough and conveying them to a distant point.

12. A'carrierdispatach system comprising a central station having a pluarlity of delivery terminals, a belt conveyer for moving all carriers discharged from said terminals along a predetermined path, an inclined trough or chute diverging laterally from said path, switch means for diverting carriers moving with said belt into the upper end of the trough' or chute, and an automatic conveyer device having receiving means associated with the delivery end of such trough or chute and into which all of the carriers are delivered.

13. A carrier dispatch system having a central station comprising a plurality of delivery terminals, means for moving all carriers discharged from said terminals along a'predetermined path, a guideway diverging from said path, means receiving all carriers moving along said guideway and conveying them to a remote point, and movable switch means for optionally diverting carriers from said path into the guideway.

14. A carrier dispatch system having a central station comprising means for segregating arriving carriers of different kinds, means for moving carriers of different kinds in predetermined paths, movable switch devices for laterally diverting carriers moving along said paths, a guideway associated with one of such switch devices and into which carriers may be diverted, and means for receiving carriers from said guideway and for conveying them to a distant point.

15. A carrier dispatch system comprising acentral station having a plurality of delivery terminals, means for causing carriers discharged by said terminals to move along a predetermined path` and means for optionally distributing said carriers to operators stations adjacent to said path or for conveying them all to a point remote from said station.

16. A carrier dispatch system comprising a central station having a bank of delivery terminals, an endless belt for conveying all carriers discharged from said terminals along a predetermined path, movable switch means disposed along said path for diverting carriers therefrom to` operators stations adjacent to said path, a trough diverging Jfrom said path, a switch associated with said trough for diverting carriers from said'path into the trough, and means for conveying all carriers delivered into the trough to a common point.

17. A carrier dispatch system having a central station comprising means for moving carriers along a predetermined path, a trough into which carriers moving alonO said path may be discharged, said trough having a delivery end of circular cross section, and a pneumatic transmission tube having its en-d clamped to the delivery end of the trough.

18. A carrier dispatch system having a central station comprising means for moving carriers alon a predetermined path, a trough into whic carriers maybe diverted from said path, said trough terminating in a split, circular sleeve, and a pneumatic transmission tube having its receiving end clamped Within said sleeve.

19. A carrier dispatch system having a central station comprising means for moving carriers along a predetermined path, a trough into which carriers may be diverted from said path, said trough gradually diminshing in transverse cross section and 10 terminating in a split sleeve, a pneumatic transmission tube having its receiving end seated Within said sleeve, and means for clamping the sleeve about the tube.

Signed by me at Boston, Massachusetts, 15

this third day of August, 1922.

JOHN A. BAUER. 

